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Interlude – Washington’s 1st Round Draft picks (2037-2047)
With changes likely coming in Washington and given the narrative of their historically questionable drafting, I thought I’d take a look back at their First-Round draft picks from the last ten years to see if the reality matches the perception.
2037 – C Santiago Melendarez (Arizona State) – Drafted 3rd overall
Made his debut in 2038 playing seven seasons in Washington before being traded to Tampa Bay, currently with Chicago. With 3 All-Star appearances and a Glove Wizard Award this pick was certainly a success.
2038 – C Oliver McKenzie (Portland College) – Drafted 8th overall
Made his debut in 2040 before being traded to Phoenix in 2042, still with Phoenix. Was only ever mediocre in Washington but has been better in Phoenix although can still only be called league average.
2039 – P Aubrey Jensen (Florida State) – Drafted 18th overall
Traded to Philadelphia in 2040 before making his NABL debut, now a sold relief pitcher with Las Vegas.
2040 – 3B Earl Roberts (High School) – Drafted 6th overall
Made his debut in 2044, still on the team and is currently attempting a comeback from a torn PCL suffered early in 2047.
2041 – No Pick
2042 – P Cameron Schwenke (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) – Drafted 7th overall
Traded to Charlotte in 2043 before making NABL debut, currently starting with Seattle.
2042 - P Daniel Harrington (Memphis) – Drafted 10th overall
Made his debut in 2045, still with the team. Has shown flashes but the jury is still out on Harrington.
2043 – No Pick
2044 – C Dennis McComish (St. Johns) – Drafted 1st overall
Traded to Omaha in July 2045 made NABL debut for the Braves during 2047 with underwhelming results (.192, 1HR, 6 RBI in 20 games)
2045 – C Harry Carter (St. Johns) – Drafted 1st overall
Was awful in his NABL debut during 2045 (.086, 0 HR, 4 RBI in 12 games), still with team currently playing at AAA Tulsa Rattlesnakes.
2046 – CF Raul Enciarte (Northern Colorado) – Drafted 1st overall
Made his debut in 2046 with disappointing results (.173, 1 HR, 14 RBI) showed marked improvement in 2047 before injury (.259, 6 HR, 35 RBI in 78 games).
2047 – P Radcliffe McCauley (St Bonnaventure) – Drafted 2nd overall
Disappointing in 2047 playing at Short Season A (8-10, 4.32 ERA)
Overall, I’d say for where Washington were picking their returns have certainly been underwhelming, the trading away of players before they could contribute in Washington has also hurt the Generals. It’s too early to judge their recent picks of Carter, Enciarte and McCauley but only Santiago Melendarez and Cameron Schwenke (although he has developed away from Washington) could be called successes out of their previous drafts. So in conclusion, I’d agree that Washinton have badly mismanaged their drafts through a combination of questionable talent evaluation, a lack of player development and also poor planning (rushing prospects to the big leagues before they were ready or trading others away for minimal returns).
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